A 90nm CMOS power amplifier for 802.16e (WiMAX) applications

We demonstrate a single stage 90nm CMOS power amplifier for 2.3−2.7GHz WiMAX (802.16e) band applications. An integrated BALUN is used to match the output to 50ohm load. The PA gain and saturated power are +18dB and +32dBm, respectively, working from a 3.3V supply, with a peak power added efficiency (PAE) of 48%. Digital pre distortion (DPD) technique is used to enhance the PA linearity. The measured EVM for a 64-QAM OFDM signal is improved from −24dB to −30dB at +25dBm output power. Compliance with the FCC 10MHz WiMAX mask is demonstrated at +25dBm of output power with power efficiency of ∼25%. Under these conditions, the measured second harmonic level at the PA output is −31[dBm/MHz].

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